Mission in Guatemala
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Sarah and I have been a missionary since I was eight years old. (Photo above from Mocuba, Mozambique, April 2010)
God has opened the door to another beautiful opportunity to share His love; I will be traveling to Guatemala and the surrounding countries from March 30 until April 12, 2016.
I need to raise at least $1,350 for my time in Guatemala, and I would like to invite you to partner with me to raise the money by February 10, 2016. This money will fund my travel, room and board, ministry expenses, and will provide financial assitance to the ministries we partner with in country.
This mission is a type of homecoming for me. My first time living overseas I went to Central America (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) and was blessed to spend some time with so many beautiful people, including a visit to Guatemala all those years ago. I will return to Central America (for the first time since 2004!) in a few months to work with street children, orphans, and survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
Although my passion for vulnerable children actually began in Honduras in 2003, my work with human trafficking started more recently. In 2009, while living in Mozambique, God called me to become an advocate for human trafficking survivors.
(Catembe Island, Mozambique- Aug. 23, 2009)
In 2010, I returned to the United States and went to law school at Michigan State Universtiy College of Law with the sole goal of being an advocate for trafficking survivors. And that is exactly what happened. :) After I graduated in 2013, I began a new project in Ohio to identify, represent, and support human trafficking survivors.
In October 2015, my husband and I left Ohio and have been in the process of settling in and seeking what the next chapter of our life holds... in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With the small writing stipend the Skadden Fellowship Foundation awarded me, I have so far spent my hours in Minnesota writing a report on labor trafficking with an organization called The Advocates for Human Rights.
In Guatemala, I will be coming up alongside my friend Laurel Neufeld Weaver (who is living in Guatemala City with her family for the year) as she encourages survivors of violence, including women who have suffered domestice violence, sexual assault, and trafficking. Laurel and I worked together in Ohio with survivors of human trafficking, and we will be supporting local frontline advocates and counselors in Guatemala (and some in El Salvador, too! ) as they walk with survivors on their journey to healing. Laurel and I will also use this time to continue writing an article on creating and sustaining trauma-informed services for human trafficking survivors. Because of the heart Josh and I have for orphans, I am thrilled to tell you that I will also be blessed to spend several days serving the children in a local orphanage (conencted with my parents' church in Luxemburg, WI).
My dear husband will be encouraging me from Minnesota and supporting this mission in prayer, and I would invite you to join him in praying!
(Josh and I with our goddaughter at her dedication, Oct. 18, 2015)
We delight in God's faithfulness towards us, and it is our great desire to share his faithful love through our lives. This trip is one way of pouring our God's faithful love. We have been on a journey this year to understand mIt has been a difficult year for your family, and we have learned much about God's heart for the hurting and for the abandoned or orphaned child. We love to celebrate the truth that God sets the lonely in families. (See my blog at http://faithlovenbabies.blogspot.com/ for more details on the journey)
(Painted by Jane DeKorne for my 33rd Birthday- thank you to my sister Mary for commissioning this painting!)
It is our prayer that this mission to Guatemala would be an opprtunity to work together to bring God's hope and love to hurting people in Central America. Would you join us?
God has opened the door to another beautiful opportunity to share His love; I will be traveling to Guatemala and the surrounding countries from March 30 until April 12, 2016.
I need to raise at least $1,350 for my time in Guatemala, and I would like to invite you to partner with me to raise the money by February 10, 2016. This money will fund my travel, room and board, ministry expenses, and will provide financial assitance to the ministries we partner with in country.
This mission is a type of homecoming for me. My first time living overseas I went to Central America (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) and was blessed to spend some time with so many beautiful people, including a visit to Guatemala all those years ago. I will return to Central America (for the first time since 2004!) in a few months to work with street children, orphans, and survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
Although my passion for vulnerable children actually began in Honduras in 2003, my work with human trafficking started more recently. In 2009, while living in Mozambique, God called me to become an advocate for human trafficking survivors.
(Catembe Island, Mozambique- Aug. 23, 2009)
In 2010, I returned to the United States and went to law school at Michigan State Universtiy College of Law with the sole goal of being an advocate for trafficking survivors. And that is exactly what happened. :) After I graduated in 2013, I began a new project in Ohio to identify, represent, and support human trafficking survivors.
In October 2015, my husband and I left Ohio and have been in the process of settling in and seeking what the next chapter of our life holds... in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With the small writing stipend the Skadden Fellowship Foundation awarded me, I have so far spent my hours in Minnesota writing a report on labor trafficking with an organization called The Advocates for Human Rights.
In Guatemala, I will be coming up alongside my friend Laurel Neufeld Weaver (who is living in Guatemala City with her family for the year) as she encourages survivors of violence, including women who have suffered domestice violence, sexual assault, and trafficking. Laurel and I worked together in Ohio with survivors of human trafficking, and we will be supporting local frontline advocates and counselors in Guatemala (and some in El Salvador, too! ) as they walk with survivors on their journey to healing. Laurel and I will also use this time to continue writing an article on creating and sustaining trauma-informed services for human trafficking survivors. Because of the heart Josh and I have for orphans, I am thrilled to tell you that I will also be blessed to spend several days serving the children in a local orphanage (conencted with my parents' church in Luxemburg, WI).
My dear husband will be encouraging me from Minnesota and supporting this mission in prayer, and I would invite you to join him in praying!
(Josh and I with our goddaughter at her dedication, Oct. 18, 2015)We delight in God's faithfulness towards us, and it is our great desire to share his faithful love through our lives. This trip is one way of pouring our God's faithful love. We have been on a journey this year to understand mIt has been a difficult year for your family, and we have learned much about God's heart for the hurting and for the abandoned or orphaned child. We love to celebrate the truth that God sets the lonely in families. (See my blog at http://faithlovenbabies.blogspot.com/ for more details on the journey)
(Painted by Jane DeKorne for my 33rd Birthday- thank you to my sister Mary for commissioning this painting!)It is our prayer that this mission to Guatemala would be an opprtunity to work together to bring God's hope and love to hurting people in Central America. Would you join us?
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Organizer
Sarah Ladd
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
